On the evening of April 8, the third year of Yonglu's reign (1561), in Kuroda Castle.

"How is it? Did anyone slip through the net?" Yu Qiuping stood at the top of the city, watching the prisoners tied up in strings and strings being sent into the city for detention. A long line of prisoners lined up outside the city gate.

"Basically not," Fukushima Yasunari shook his head and said, "In order to make it easier to cross the river, they didn't bring a single horse with them. Lord Anayama and his companions took people on horseback and captured all the dozens of people who had the chance to escape. Except for three Scuds.

, I really can’t keep up.”

"That's no problem," Yu Qiuping said with a smile, "Jiesheng, go report your victory to Qingzhou City."

"Remember to report the emergency, Brother Jiesheng!" Nakahide Omaezaki shouted from the side: "First report that 1,000 Saito troops have crossed the river to attack! Then report that they have been defeated! It must have this effect!"

Omaezaki Nakahide's words caused everyone around to burst into laughter.

"But Your Highness," Naoe Tadahei asked, "there are so many prisoners, which far exceed the number of our soldiers. How should we imprison them? If we don't handle them well, it may come back to bite us."

"This... I don't understand very well," Yu Qiuping cast his eyes on Amano Jingtoku, "Kwon Bingwei, what can you do?"

"Screen the prisoners," Amano Keide said in a low voice, "They are basically peasant soldiers gathered in the territory, and they are related to each other. We will lock the familiar people together in units of about ten."

"Wouldn't that make it easier for them to escape?" Yu Qiuping asked in surprise.

"As long as one person is found escaping, the rest will be killed without mercy." Amano Keide added the last sentence coldly.

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and their hair stood on end.

"I'm going... so cruel..." Nakahide Omaezaki took a breath, "It's easy for a person to sneak away alone. But that person will definitely not let go of his fellow villagers, and will find a way to rescue his companions. But ten people run together.

The movement is so loud that it is easy to be discovered.”

"Don't open the three blocked gates." Amano Keide continued in a cold voice, "In addition to the sentries where prisoners are held, patrol posts are set up at the north gate, the city wall, and in the streets. Peasants and soldiers are summoned within the territory to engage in patrol work.

.I’ll leave these arrangements to you later.”

"Okay..." Yu Qiuping also broke into cold sweat after hearing this, "I'll leave it all to you..." As soon as he finished speaking, Amano Jingtoku's crow cawed twice in response.

"But what happens next!" Sena asked anxiously, "What will happen to these people after that! They can eat 10 kilograms of food a day! We can't keep them in vain!"

"How is that possible," Yoshioka Katsumasa spat, "Of course we turn them into slaves and force them to work! Go farm!"

"But it's okay to be in prison now, but what will happen to them when they are released?" Sena Shiyoshi shouted: "If they run away before they have worked for a few days, wouldn't it be a big loss?"

"No, no, no, of course it's impossible to let them go out to work," Yu Qiuping shook his head and said, "How can we keep track of so many people. We only have more than 200 people in total."

Ogawa Youdong, who had been drinking on the side, became energetic when he heard this, and shouted with the strength of his wine: "Your Highness, you are not going to show mercy again! Just put them back!"

Ogawa Youdong's opening immediately aroused the vigilance of everyone present. They all looked at Yu Qiuping with suspicion.

Yu Qiuping sighed, spread his hands and said: "We are all people who have lived a hard life. It's not like you don't know how hard life is for slaves... Why bother letting others become slaves?"

As soon as Yu Qiuping said this, everyone fell silent. Amano Jingde frowned, and just about to open his mouth to admonish, Yu Qiuping waved his hand to stop him.

However, this time Yu Qiuping smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm not the compassionate and good person I was two years ago," Yu Qiuping said with a bad smile, "I want to be a kidnapper."

"Kidnappers?" Omaezaki Nakahide reacted immediately, "Kiddling more than 900 people? Demanding ransom from those wealthy families?"

"That's right!" Yu Qiuping smiled and patted the shoulder of Azena Ushiyoshi, "We happen to be short of money! Let's do something big now!" After saying that, Yu Qiuping looked at Honda Tadakatsu and said, "Pot.

Nosuke, go and ask the person in charge, Mizu Atomic Sutra, to invite the four adults captured this time to come up and discuss the ransom."

"This..." Honda Tadakatsu was clearly in a dilemma, "This goes against the way of the samurai."

"There's no need for him to go!" Sena Uji, who is usually gentle, will be more aggressive than anyone else when it comes to money issues. He stopped Honda Tadakatsu with one hand and said with a vicious smile: "I'll go and invite him!"

·

Walking on the way to the castle tower, Hara Nagayori's face was ashen. He knew that this failure would almost break the backbone of the Hara family. As a middle-class wealthy family with only 8,000 koku, the total population in the territory was only one.

There are more than 1,200 people. Among them, there are only about 400 young and middle-aged men working in the war. This time, the Yuan family dispatched more than 250 people, all of which were lost here. Not to mention anything else, this autumn harvest

The original family will definitely not be able to finish the work. Fertilizing and weeding in summer can only be done by the elderly and children. There may be more than a hundred families whose lives are difficult to sustain.

What is even more despairing is that this time, several of their wealthy families sent troops without consulting the senior officials of the Saito family. Because the central power of the Saito family is not too strong, each wealthy family has a lot of autonomy, so it can be controlled to a certain extent.

decided to carry out this small-scale strategy. However, this also means that the Hara family can never expect to receive any compensation from the Saito family. The Saito family, which has always been in conflict with the local wealthy families, may even cause a major defeat in the name of sending troops privately.

, directly confiscating the original family's land. Even if the Saito family does not take action, other surrounding wealthy families who are eyeing the original family's land may continue to invade and seize the original family's land, and the injured original family is no longer able to fight back.

Haronaga Yori thought about it, and the more he thought about it, the sadder he became. The hard work of the Hara family for several generations was all defeated by his own hands. He also understood that Nonomura Yukinari, who was being escorted away with him,

It was the same misery as Kato Mitsuhiro. Even the head of the Nonomura family was arrested. Nonomura Yukinari's eldest son had not yet had his Yuanfu, and was in a precarious state.

However, compared to the Mukagawa Bingzhong, they are still relatively good. Their territory has been secured by the Saito family after all. For the semi-robbery countrymen like Mukagawa Bingzhong, their land is not guaranteed. In total, they have

With only 400 young men, they lost more than half in one fell swoop. The surrounding wealthy families or the Saito family would definitely take the opportunity to attack them and seize their land.

The four people who had always scorned Yu Qiuping's behavior as a kind person in sending food to the enemy, now all wished that Yu Qiuping would "go crazy" again, oh no, show mercy! Put them back directly!

·

"I plan to put you and the more than 900 subordinates back. After all, I can't bear to see so many people become slaves. Everyone fights for their own masters. I don't resent you very much." This is what Yu Qiuping said.

He met them at the castle tower and gave them his first words after being released.

"Dreams come true!" The four people roared in their hearts almost at the same time.

"But there's something wrong. I wonder if the four of you can help me." Yu Qiuping changed the topic and whispered with a grimace.

"Your Majesty Hongye, just speak up!" Nonomura Yukinari, who had scolded Yu Qiuping the most before, immediately patted his chest and assured: "Is there anything I can do to help? I will do my best!" The change of attitude was so fast that it made

His three companions were stunned.

"That's it..." Yu Qiuping rubbed his hands in embarrassment, looking very aggrieved. This realistic acting skills amazed the subordinates who were sitting on both sides watching.

"Oh, it's really embarrassing to say it." Yu Qiuping said while smacking his lips, "To be honest, the Yu Qiu family is going to be in trouble. You also know that I have just arrived, and I haven't caught up with the autumn harvest yet. I'm extremely poor. My subordinates have been very poor for a long time.

No more salary has been given!"

"Yes! Your Highness!" Nobuyuki Anayama yelled immediately, "You haven't given me any money for half a year! Even the whale houses in the county won't let me in!"

You kid! Yu Qiuping cursed in his heart. Can you please stop being embarrassed?

"To tell you the truth," Yu Qiuping spread his hands and said, "After giving your subordinates a meal tonight, I don't even have enough food for tomorrow's breakfast."

"How could it be possible?" Hara Nagarai said in surprise, "His Majesty Hongye is so... well, embarrassed."

"Yes, I basically rely on Qingzhou City for food support," Yu Qiuping said nonchalantly: "Originally, there were only 200 people here, and I was not very tired. This food is enough to last for a long time. But today you called,

Not only did it give me 900 mouths in vain, but it also made my subordinates so tired that they ate a lot. All the food has been eaten up, and it will take ten days for the next shipment from Qingzhou City."

"Then why not... just let us go back tonight, so as not to cause any trouble to His Majesty Hongye." Hara Nagarai said matter-of-factly.

Damn it! Think of me as a Kaizi! You can cut it as you like! Yu Qiuping said in his heart, and he immediately winked at the black-faced character Omaezaki Nakahide. Omaezaki Nakahide immediately shouted knowingly: "You guys

What a beautiful thought! Let you go! What shall we eat!"

"My Highness is a good person, but I am not!" Nakahide Omaezaki said while fiercely drawing a knife in his hand, which frightened Hara Nagayori, a young man in his teens, "If I can't have breakfast! I'll kill the prisoners and eat their meat."

! Your kid is from the Hara family, right?" Omaezaki Nakahide said while sneering, and licked the tip of the knife seductively with his tongue, "I'll kill yours first!"

"Don't, sir! Please tell me what you have to say!" Hara Nagayori's face turned pale with fright. Unexpectedly, Omaezaki Nakahide was quite talented in acting - the nickname of "actor" was indeed well-deserved.

"Okay, Zhongxiu, don't make things difficult for me," Yu Qiuping came out to smooth things over. Then, he said with a tone of bitterness and hatred: "Look, you are the one who brought me the fight. It makes me unable to open the door."

.Can you help me with some food so that everyone can tide over the difficulties?"

"It's easy to talk!" Just when Nonomura Yukinari, an old Jianghu, was still hesitating, Hara Nagarayi had already agreed, "I have plenty of food at home! I will give you as much as your Highness Momiji wants!"

"Okay!" Yu Qiuping smiled excitedly, "That's interesting! I will be the first to release your prisoner when the time comes!"

"Your Highness!" Kato Mitsui was anxious upon hearing this, "My family also has food to help, and I am willing to help Your Highness!"

"Okay!" Yu Qiuping smiled and patted Kato Mitsutai's shoulder, and then cast meaningful eyes on Nonomura Yukinari and Maeno Nagayasu.

"Isn't this just kidnapping, and you put it in such a nice way..." Maeno Nagayasu secretly slandered, "We, the Kawabizuku, often do this... Alas, we could have discussed it, but those two boys agreed directly.
Chapter completed!